Tuck-making device



July 14, 1 942. T. E. CARROLL -MAKING DEVICE Filed Aug. 3, 1940 INVENTO THOMAS E. CARROLL Patented July 14, 1942 UNITED STATES 4 Claims.

vice of this kind which can be readily reset or adjusted to change the Width of the tuck which it is desired to make.

In manufacturing tucked material by the yard, the operators are frequently paid by the piece rate system and obtain great proficiency in operating the sewing machines at high speed, frequently doing the tucking at the rate of several hundred yards per hour. Accordingly it is important to be able to reset the machine to make different width tucks as quickly as possible, particularly as it is sometimes necessary to make this adjustment a number of times during each day. It is also important to set the tuck-making device accurately so as to form the tucks to the desired width specifications. Otherwise large wastage of material may occur.

In the tuck-making devices now in common use a blade is provided having a guiding edge for directing the fabric to the sewing mechanism. This blade is carried at one end of an arm which is pivoted to permit the blade to swing away from the stitch-forming mechanism to facilitate the folding of the material about the edge of the blade. The width of the tuck is determined by the distance between this guiding edge and the needle of the stitch-forming mechanism when the blade is swung into operating position, and in order to change or Vary this distance so as to be able to make tucks of different widths the blade has heretofore been mounted on the arm by means of a pair of screws threaded into the arm and passing through slots in the shank of the blade.

Hence, in order to change the width of the tuck, it was necessary to use a cut and try method; that is to say, the screws were loosened and the blades shifted to as near as possible the desired position on the arm. After tightening the screws a few stitches were taken and the width of the tuck measured. Usually the first setting was incorrect and it was necessary to loosen the screws and again shift the blade in one direction or the other. The correct width of tuck might be obtained after a single such shift, but more often it was necessary to shift the blade several times in order to obtain the correct setting.

The object of my present invention is to provide a tuck-making device which will overcome these difficulties and which is capable of accurate adjustment to produce a tuck of the desired width.

7 Another object of the invention is to arrange PATENT OFFICE the adjusting mechanism so that it is conveniently accessible and so that, if desired, adjustment can be made without removing the fabric from the tucking blade.

A further object of the invention is to provide a micrometer adjustment of the tucking blade so that extremely small adjustments can be made with precision.

The invention will be understood by considering the accompanying drawing in which, by way of example, one embodiment is illustrated. In this drawing:

Fig. l is a plan view of the tuck-forming device;

Fig. 2 is a vertical sectional view taken on line 22 of Fig. 1;

Fig. 3 is an enlarged sectional view taken on line 33 of Fig. 1; and

Fig. 4 is a similar view taken on line 44 of Fig. 1.

Referring now to the accompanying drawing, my improved tuck-making device is shown in Fig. 2 as mounted on the table I of a sewing machine, the stitch-forming mechanism of which includes a needle 2 and the usual mechanism which cooperates with the needle. The shuttle and other parts of the stitch-forming mechanism and the feeding mechanism for feeding the material to the stitch-forming mechanism, none of which are shown in the drawing, are contained within a housing 3 which is supported upon the table I and thereby elevates the stitching or sewing level above the top of this table.

In order properly to guide the fabric 4, or other material in which the tucks are to be formed, to the stitch-forming mechanism, there is provided a blade 5 of thin, preferably flexible, sheet metal. The fabric is folded around the straight guiding edge 6 at the right of this blade so that one fold of the fabric is beneath the blade and the other fold on top of the blade, the fold line around the guiding edge 6 constituting the edge of the tuck to be formed. The straight guiding edge 6 serves to guide the fabric along the inside edge of the tuck fold line to the Stitch-forming mechanism, the fold line or edge of the tuck being delivered to the stitch-forming mechanism at a distance to the right of needle} equal to the desired width of the tuck.

The feeding mechanism of the sewing machine causes the fabric to advance across the table I and a line of stitching I is formed, thereby sewing together the two folds of the tuck. This line of stitching will be parallel with the tuck fold. line or edge of the tuck. The operator holds the material lightly against the upper and lower surfaces of the outer or narrower end of blade 5 with the thumb and fingers so as to keep the material feeding along the line of the edge of the tuck.

The tucking blade 5 is attached by means of two screws 8 to a swinging arm 9 which is pivotally mounted upon the top of a support I9 which is fixed to table I, this support being preferably of the same height as housing 3. This pivotal mounting of blade carrying arm 9 permits the blade to be swung away from the stitch-forming mechanism to facilitate the folding of the material about the bladeat the start of each tuck.

In order to adjust the guiding edge 6 of the tucking blade to the proper distance to the right of needle 2 to form the desired width of tuck, my improved mechanism provides for the bodily lateral shifting of the rigid blade carrying arm 9 with respect to support I and mechanism for effecting and controlling the extent of this shifting movement. This mechanism includes a pivot member I I the round shank of which turns freely in a machined aperture in the top of support III. The head I2 of this pivot member has on its under side a parallel sided projection I3 which enters a slot I4 which is out near the outer end of arm 9.

The parallel sides of this projection I3 make a sliding fit with the walls of slot I I. The head I2 projects outwardl beyond the parallel sided projection I3 forming two shoulders I 5 which engage the upper surface of the bar 9 and clamp the arm against the surface of the top of support If]. This surface is preferably provided with a circular boss I6 surrounding the aperture which receives pivot member II, and. a pad I! to the right of this aperture, that is to say, in the direction of the stitching mechanism.

In order to yieldingly clamp the parts together pivot member I I is provided at its lower end with a helical spring I8 which bears against the inner surface of housing I0 and is held on the pivot member by a suitable nut and washer I9. In this way the arm 9 is firmly held in horizontal position by the clamping action of the parts but the arm may be swung about the pivot and will remain in any position to which it is moved.

At the extreme outer end of arm 9 a lug 20 is provided within which an adjusting screw 2i freely turns. This screw is provided with a shoulder, as indicated in Fig. 2, which bears against the right hand surface of lug 20 and with a knurled operating head 22 which bears against the opposite surface of the lug. Adjusting screw 2| is threaded into the upper portion of head I2 of pivoted member II so that by turning this screw arm 9 is shifted bodily to the right or left, as shown in the drawing, of the pivot member II and support II), the head of pivot member II sliding in the slot I4.

An index scale shown in Fig. 1 is provided on the upper surface of arm 9, this scale being read in reference to a shoulder 23 on the head I2 of the pivot member. On knurled operating head 22 and lug 29 are cooperating index marks 24 and 25 so that the operator may readily observe fractions of a revolution of the head 22. The pitch of the thread of the adjusting screw 2| is preferably chosen to agree with the number of subdivisions of the index scale so that a single complete revolution of the knurled operating head will move the arm one subdivision on the scale with respect to shoulder 23. Then each of these subdivisions may be further subdivided by fractions of a revolution of the adjusting screw using the two index marks 24 and 25.

A preferred arrangement of the adjusting mechanism and'scale is to divide the scale into sixteenths of an inch and use an adjusting screw of 16 pitch. Also the zero on the scale is preferably made to correspond to the position of the guiding edge 6 in direct alinement with needle 2 of the stitching mechanism. As shown in Fig. 1 of the drawing, therefore, the tucking mechanism is set to form tucks A; inch wide. When the mechanism has been adjusted as desired, the adjusting screw 2I is clamped in position by means of a thumb screw 26.

By means of the improved tuck-making device the tucking blade 5 can be adjusted to the exact position to produce tucks of the desired width by a single adjustment of the knurled head 22 of the adjusting screw and fixing the tuck width by means of the indicating scale. Accurate adjustment is obtainable even for extremely narrow width tucks through the provision of the micrometer adjusting index marks 24 and 25.

It will be understood that changes can be made in the tuck-making mechanism without departing from the spirit of my invention and it is to be understood that the scope thereof is indicated in the appended claims.

I claim:

1. In a tuck-making machine, stitch-forming mechanism, a blade for guiding thereto the material in which the tucks are to be formed, an arm carrying the blade, a support for the arm having a pivot permitting the arm and blade to be swung away from the stitch-forming mechanism to facilitate the folding of the material about the blade, said arm carrying the blade at one end and having a slot forming a longitudinal slideway adjacent its opposite end and said pivot including a pivot member mounted to turn in said support and having a head projecting through said slot and engaging the outer surface of the arm to hold it in slidable relation to said pivot member, a lug projecting from the surface of the arm adjacent one end of said slideway, and an adjusting member rotatable in said lug and having opposing shoulders cooperating therewith to prevent longitudinal movement with respect thereto, said member having a screw threaded portion threaded into the head of said pivot member so that rotation of said adjusting member causes a longitudinal shifting of said arm with respect to said fixed support.

2. In a tuck-making machine, stitch-forming mechanism, a blade for guiding thereto the material in which the tucks are to be formed, an arm carrying the blade, a support for the arm having a pivot permitting the arm and blade to be swung away from the stitch-forming mechanism to facilitate the folding of the material about the blade, said arm carrying the blade at one end and having a slot forming a longitudinal slideway adjacent its opposite end and said pivot including a pivot member mounted to turn in said support and having a head projecting through said slot and engaging the outer surface of the arm to hold it in slidable relation to said pivot member, a lug projecting from the surface of the arm adjacent one end of said slideway, an adjusting member rotatable in said lug and having opposing shoulders cooperating therewith to prevent longitudinal movement with respect thereto, said member having a screw threaded portion threaded into the head of said pivot member so that rotation of said adjusting member causes a longitudinal shifting of said arm with respect to said fixed support, and a clamping screw threaded into said lug to secure said adjusting member in adjusted position.

3. In a tuck-making machine, stitch-forming mechanism, a blade for guiding thereto the material in which the tucks are to be formed, an arm carrying the blade, a support for the arm having a pivot permitting the arm and blade to be swung away from the stich-forming mechanism to facilitate the folding of the material about the blade, said arm carrying the blade at one end and having a slot forming a longitudinal slidevvay adjacent its opposite end, and said pivot including a pivot member mounted to turn in said support and having a head projecting through said slot and engaging the outer surface of the arm to hold it in slidable relation to said pivot member, a lug projecting from the surface of the arm adjacentthe outer end of said slideway, and an adjusting member rotatable in said lug and having opposed shoulders cooperating therewith to prevent longitudinal movement with respect thereto, said member having a screw threaded portion threaded into the head of said pivot member so that rotation of said adjusting member causes a longitudinal shifting of said arm with respect to said fixed support.

4. In a tuck-making machine, stitch-forming mechanism, a blade for guiding thereto the material in which the tucks are to be formed, an arm carrying the blade, a support for the arm having a pivot permitting the arm and blade to be swung sway from the stitch-forming mechanism to facilitate the folding of the material about the blade, said arm carrying the blade at one end and having a slot forming a longitudinal slideway adjacent its opposite end, and said pivot including a pivot member mounted to turn in said support and having a head projecting through said slot and engaging the outer surface of the arm to hold it in slidable relation to said pivot member, a lug projecting from the surface of the arm adjacent the outer end of said slideway, an adjusting member rotatable in said lug and having opposed shoulders cooperating there- With to prevent longitudinal movement with respect thereto, said member having a screw threaded portion threaded into the head of said pivot member so that rotation of said adjusting member causes a longitudinal shifting of said arm with respect to said fixed support, and a clamping screw threaded into said lug to secure said adjusting member in adjusted position.

THOMAS E. CARROLL. 

